According to a 1962 Singapore newspaper that covered local and overseas entertainment the rock n roll movie, Play It Cool (image) was banned because of its "undesirable song and dance sequence."
Such movies drew crowds because fans were able to watch their pop stars on the 'silver screen'. Computers and You Tube were not available then and movies like, Sing Boy Sing, Rock Around The Clock, Jamboree, Calypso Heat Wave and a host of others kept the cinemas flooded with the best Western pop artistes singing their latest.
Play It Cool had Billy Fury as the main attraction, so could he be the reason why the movie was banned in Singapore? Billy Fury, like many pop singers in the 60s, had a starring role and was known for his sensuality when performing.
Here's a bit of history from a website. His biography discussed his first self-penned 1959 hit, Maybe Tomorrow, which made him an overnight sensation both as a singer and an actor on radio and TV.
His second song, Margo just managed the pop chart while two other singles failed. It was due to "bad press which he was receiving," because of "his wild and overtly sexual stage acts." Elvis Presley experienced similar circumstances didn't he?
According to Fury, "All I did was to squirm about a bit and they banned me for that." But Play It Cool, a box office hit, was made in 1962 and the EP soundtrack were 45 weeks on the Charts. He had also toned down his act since 1959. Were there other reasons for the ban? Could it be the lyrics in the songs the artistes performed? What was the "undesirable song" and "dance sequence"? We will never know.
Anyone seen this movie? Perhaps someone can shed some light as to why it was banned? But then it was a long time ago. And censorship was strict.
Billy Fury Website: http://www.nic.fi/~nallew/pages/bio.html Original article: Andy Lim
No comments:
Post a Comment